Have you filed after a 3, 5, or 10-year bar?

[positivity 0]

Hello,

We are getting close to the end of my husband's 10-year bar per 212a9c, and I am looking for anyone who has waited out a bar and gone through the application process. It would be especially nice to hear from someone who has applied after a 10-year bar, but I've been told there aren't many because this bar started just a little over ten years ago. So if you have survived ANY length bar and can post something about it here, that would be great.

I would like to know if there was anything different about how your case was processed because of the bar, and anything else you think is important. Please share your story, or just post to let us know you are out there!

Thank you!

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You may want to post this at immigrate2us.net too. There is much more activity there where waivers and bars are concerned. The 9C ruling is really tough. You are right, there are probably only a handful of people who have waited the 10 years to re-apply for admission. You have to get permission to from the Attorney General before you can re-apply in a 9C case. The 9C bar is lifetime with the possibilty to apply for a waiver after being outside the US for 10 years, as long as permission is granted to apply. I'm sure you know this law well.

If granted permission to apply, you can then submit the hardship waiver which must be approved in order to obtain a visa. Have you been living in Mexico with your husband?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You may want to post this at immigrate2us.net too. There is much more activity there where waivers and bars are concerned. The 9C ruling is really tough. You are right, there are probably only a handful of people who have waited the 10 years to re-apply for admission. You have to get permission to from the Attorney General before you can re-apply in a 9C case. The 9C bar is lifetime with the possibilty to apply for a waiver after being outside the US for 10 years, as long as permission is granted to apply. I'm sure you know this law well.

If granted permission to apply, you can then submit the hardship waiver which must be approved in order to obtain a visa. Have you been living in Mexico with your husband?

I was unable to edit to make a correction on my above post. Currently, permission needs to be granted from the Secretary of Homeland Security. This wording in the law was changed, as it was originally written, it was the Attorney General who had to grant permission.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The edit function isn't working properly. I was trying to make this one post. Sorry.

Are you planning on using a lawyer for you waiver? Laurel Scott at visacentral.net is one of the most experienced lawyer in the country with foreign filed waivers and especially filing in Juarez Mexico. I believe she still has a 100% sucess rate in Mexico. She will only take your case if she thinks she can be sucessful. She is very highly regarded on immigrate2us.net.

If you don't mind my asking, what were the reasons for the 9C ruling in your husband's case?

[positivity 0]

Thanks for the info spookyturtle!

In brief, hubby had 2 EWI's and was caught & fingerprinted each time, then EWI'd "succesfully" but got a "VR" or removal in 1999. We have not been able to get the records for the first two EWI's, so the exact type of removal is unknown. We were given the 212a9cii decision from a CDJ consulate officer in 2004.

Have you or anyone else made it through a 3, 5, or 10-year bar? Please let us know!

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Thanks for the info spookyturtle!

In brief, hubby had 2 EWI's and was caught & fingerprinted each time, then EWI'd "succesfully" but got a "VR" or removal in 1999. We have not been able to get the records for the first two EWI's, so the exact type of removal is unknown. We were given the 212a9cii decision from a CDJ consulate officer in 2004.

Have you or anyone else made it through a 3, 5, or 10-year bar? Please let us know!

So he had two unsucessful attempts at EWI, was fingerprinted and returned to Mexico? No court, just processed at the border? When was his sucessful EWI and how long was he in the US before he got voluntary removal? The reason I am asking is 9C is not based on the number of illegal entries, but upon having a year or more of unlawful presence, leaving the US and then entering again illegally. Could you please be more specific about the dates in your case? Did he enter illegally, stay a year or more, leave and then re-enter illegally?

[positivity 0]

So he had two unsucessful attempts at EWI, was fingerprinted and returned to Mexico? No court, just processed at the border? When was his sucessful EWI and how long was he in the US before he got voluntary removal? The reason I am asking is 9C is not based on the number of illegal entries, but upon having a year or more of unlawful presence, leaving the US and then entering again illegally. Could you please be more specific about the dates in your case? Did he enter illegally, stay a year or more, leave and then re-enter illegally?

1998 - 2 EWI's caught and fingerprinted

1998 - EWI stayed until removal in 1999

He did not stay a year or more and then enter illegally (212a9ci-I). He was denied per 212a9ci-II. So at least one of the EWI's when he was caught they are considering a removal. He doesn't remember a judge, but he was fingerprinted. If the consulate officer was wrong, what is there to do - We are almost to the end of the bar with an approved I-130. Any suggestions?

212a9

C) Aliens unlawfully present after previous immigration violations.-

(i) In general.-Any alien who-

(II) has been ordered removed under section 235(b(1) , section 240 , or any other provision of law, and who enters or attempts to reenter the United States without being admitted is inadmissible.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The 2 times in 1998 when he was caught and fingerprinted, was he returned to Mexico? If this is the case, it is called catch and release. If he did not appear before a judge for a formal hearing for etiher of these, I am really surprised that the Consulate considered it a removal. Normally catch and releases don't count. It would have been wise to do more investigation into whether he was actually removed or not. The consulate may well have been wrong and a good lawyer would have been able to overturn the decison so he was eligible for a waiver. Now there's probably no point in trying since the ban will be up next year. Why was he removed in 1999?

Are you planning on using a lawyer for his waiver when the ban is up?

[positivity 0]

The 2 times in 1998 when he was caught and fingerprinted, was he returned to Mexico? If this is the case, it is called catch and release. If he did not appear before a judge for a formal hearing for etiher of these, I am really surprised that the Consulate considered it a removal. Normally catch and releases don't count. It would have been wise to do more investigation into whether he was actually removed or not. The consulate may well have been wrong and a good lawyer would have been able to overturn the decison so he was eligible for a waiver. Now there's probably no point in trying since the ban will be up next year. Why was he removed in 1999?

Are you planning on using a lawyer for his waiver when the ban is up?

Ah yes, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. Fortunately we now have an experienced attorney helping us through the process.

How about you, Spookyturtle? What is your immigration situation/experience?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

[

Ah yes, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. Fortunately we now have an experienced attorney helping us through the process.

How about you, Spookyturtle? What is your immigration situation/experience?

We went thru the waiver for my wife, fiance at the time. It was a long drawn out process riddled with mistakes. She needed a waiver for an overstay of more than a year. She was inadmissable under 212(a)(9)(B)(I)(ii) but there is a waiver available for that. The waiver was submitted and sent to DHS for adjudication. Eight months later, DHS rules that she wasn't eligible for a waiver. It took us 6 months and a lot of sweat and blood to get the ruling overturned, without having to go thru the appeals process. We never took no for an answer and we never gave up. All we wanted was what the law entitled us to. We are now in the process of adjusting her status. She has received her advance parole documents and her EAD has been approved and we await its arrival.

I hope you have a good lawyer, there are literally none who have any experience with your type of case. In fact, there are probably only 3 or so in the country who I would trust to handle a case like this. I have lot's of experience with immigration lawyers, very few know how to do anything out of the ordinary, and there are plenty who screw up the simple things.

Edited October 30, 2008 by spookyturtle

[positivity 0]

Thanks for sharing your story. It's great that you didn't give up and that things turned out well for you.

So is Laurel Scott one of those 3? Anyone else you'd recommend?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Thanks for sharing your story. It's great that you didn't give up and that things turned out well for you.

So is Laurel Scott one of those 3? Anyone else you'd recommend?

Laurel Scott, Heather Poole and Carl Shusterman. Filing thru Mexico, I would give very heavy consderation to Laurel Scott.